HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 42-O-25, Opting the Evanston School Districts Out of the Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance5/12/25
42-O-25
AN ORDINANCE
Opting the Evanston School Districts Out of the Cook County Paid
Leave Ordinance
WHEREAS, the Illinois Municipal Code, 65 ILCS 5/1-2-1, provides that the
corporate authorities of each municipality may pass all ordinances and make all rules
and regulations proper or necessary, to carry into effect the powers granted to
municipalities; and
WHEREAS,the City of Evanston (“City”) is a home rule unit of
government pursuant to Article VII, Section 6(a) of the Illinois Constitution and, pursuant
to the provisions of said Section 6 of Article VII, may exercise any power or perform any
function pertaining to its government and affairs; and
WHEREAS, on or about March 12, 2023, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed
Public Act 102-1143, the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (820 ILCS 192/1 et seq.)
(the “Act”) into law; and
WHEREAS, as enacted, the Act requires a paid leave standard for all
employees in the State of Illinois, with exceptions for school district employees; and
WHEREAS, on or about December 14, 2023, Cook County (the “County”)
adopted the Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance (the “County Ordinance”), Sections 42-
1 through 42-10 of the Cook County Code, which, like the Act, requires employers in the
County to provide certain minimum paid leave benefits to certain groups of employees;
and
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42-O-25
WHEREAS, unlike the Act, the County Ordinance does not exempt school
district employees from the County Ordinance’s requirements; and
WHEREAS, the County, after the passage of the County Ordinance,
adopted an amendment to the County Ordinance which temporarily exempts school
districts from complying with the County Ordinance until January 1, 2025 (the
“Temporary Exemption”); and
WHEREAS, despite the State having exempted school districts from the
Act and the County having initially provided the Temporary Exemption, the County has
neither permanently exempted school districts from the County Ordinance nor extended
the Temporary Exemption; and
WHEREAS, as a result, the school districts located in the County must
comply with the County Ordinance beginning on January 1, 2025; and
WHEREAS, the City recognizes that compliance with the County
Ordinance imposes a unique hardship on units of local government that provide
essential services to the residents of the City, including Evanston-Skokie School District
65 and Evanston Township High School District 202, both organized under the Illinois
School Code (the “School Districts”); and
WHEREAS, the City further recognizes that compliance with the County
Ordinance may affect the School Districts’ day-to-day operations and their operations
and ability to provide services; and
WHEREAS, the City deems it necessary to exercise its home rule
authority so that the School Districts may continue to maintain their existing paid leave
benefits program after the expiration of the Temporary County Exemption; and
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42-O-25
WHEREAS, this Ordinance prevails over the County Ordinance to the
extent the County Ordinance conflicts with it, pursuant to Section 6(c) of Article VII of
the Illinois Constitution; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and the City Council have determined that it will
serve and be in the best interest of the City and its residents to exempt the School
Districts from the County Ordinance as set forth in this Ordinance. These matters
pertain to the City’s government and affairs and are approved pursuant to the City’s
home rule powers under the Illinois Constitution of 1970;
NOW BE IT ORDAINED by the Mayor and the City Council of the City of
Evanston, Cook County, Illinois, in the exercise of the City’s home rule powers, that:
SECTION 1 The foregoing recitals are incorporated into, and made a part
of, this Ordinance as the findings of the Mayor and the City Council.
SECTION 2: EXEMPTION FROM COUNTY ORDINANCE.
A. Pursuant to its authority as a home-rule municipality, the City hereby declares
that the Evanston-Skokie School District 65 and Evanston Township High School
District 202 are exempt from following the County Ordinance for their own
employees who are primarily engaged in work within the City of Evanston and
may continue to offer those employees the same paid leave benefits that they
currently provide to those employees, as such benefits may be amended from
time to time.
B. This Ordinance governs over and supersedes all provisions of the County
Ordinance to the extent it conflicts with the County Ordinance.
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C. This Ordinance, once adopted, applies to all employees of the Evanston-Skokie
School District 65 and Evanston Township High School District 202 who are
primarily engaged in work within the City of Evanston.
3. SECTION this of provision clause paragraph, or any If section,
Ordinance is held invalid, the invalidity of such section, paragraph, clause or provision
shall not affect any of the other provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 4. After its passage, approval and publication in pamphlet form
as required by law, this Ordinance shall be deemed to be effective immediately; it is
separately the intent of the City that this Ordinance shall be effective retroactive to
January 1, 2025.
Introduced: _________________, 2025
Adopted: ___________________, 2025
Approved:
__________________________, 2025
_______________________________
Daniel Biss, Mayor
Attest:
_______________________________
Stephanie Mendoza, City Clerk
Approved as to form:
______________________________
Alexandra B, Ruggie, Corporation Counsel
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